The evening was quiet in the Graham household. The smell of freshly cooked stew lingered in the kitchen, drifting faintly into the living room where Stella sat curled up with her textbooks. The soft ticking of the wall clock filled the silence, and every so often she tapped her pen against the page as she worked through a set of math problems she had already solved twice before.
Her phone buzzed on the desk beside her. At first, she ignored it, assuming it was just one of those notification alerts from her study apps. But when it buzzed again, a little longer this time, she reached over and glanced at the screen.
An unknown number.
Stella hesitated before answering. “Hello?” she said, voice calm but curious.
Silence.
She frowned, pressing the phone closer to her ear. “Hello? Who’s thi
